Combination for supporting, restraining, and protecting a child when seated at a table



Nov. 14, 1944.

G. M. GARNER COMBINATION FOR SUPPORTING, RESTRAINING AND PROTECTINGCHILDREN WHEN SEATED AT TABLES- Filed NOV. 12, 1941 EMBARNER PatentedNov. 14, 1944 COIWBINATION FOR SUPPORTING, RE-

STRAINING, AND PROTECTING A CHILD WHEN SEATED AT A TABLE George MaidenGarner, Baltimore, Md., assignor to George Earl McKewen, Sr., Baltimore,Md.

Application November 12, 1941, Serial No. 418,798

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and useful combination for supporting,restraining and protecting a child while it sits and eats from afoodcontainer on a table; such combination consisting of a chair, atable supported by the chair, a protective cover for the child seated inthe chair and for the table supported in front of the seated child orperson, and a simple and effective means. to prevent the seated personor child from rising and standing in the chair.

One object of the invention is to protect the child from bodily injurythat might occur to a child who would rise to its feet, lose itsbalance, and fall on the floor or on a table containing hot food,glassware, Chinaware, etc., that might break and cut the child.

Another object is to shield not only the body and body-garments of thechild, but also shield its legs from food, drinks, etc., that fallbetween the chair-supported table and childs body when not prevented bythe bib-extension that constitutes a table-receiving pocket provided bythis invention.

Another object is to provide a flexible, washable, easily attachable anddetachable protecting cover that is normally attached to the chair andto the table, and into which the small child can be placed and securedwhile the protective cover is attached to the chair and table, and fromwhich the child cannot easily detach itself, nor detach the protectivecover from the chair and table; but which protective cover can quicklyand easily be detached by anadult or large child who is free from therestraint and confines of the protective device.

Other objects and important features are pointed out or implied in thefollowing details of description, in connection with the accompanyingdrawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear view of the protective device when spread fiat on awall or other plane surface, a pair of the restraining strips beingbroken off.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, the section through the protectivecover or shield being taken substantially along the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing in detail, in which, similar reference numeralsrefere to similar parts in both views, the invention is described indetail as follows: 7

The chair I and table or food-table -2 are of ordinary or conventionalconstruction in which the table is supported on arms la, only one ofwhich is here shown, and the table is also attached to the chair by arms2a by any appropriate means at 3, and by a preferably flexiblerespectively to the table and chair by means of screws or otherappropriate means. No novelty is claimed for the structures thus fardescribed.

The protective device shown detached and spread in Fig. 1, and shown inits normal position is claimed to be novel per se, as an attachment forthe combined chair and table; and also claimed to be an element of anovel combination, as an attachment in place, via, the combination shownin Fig. 2. Such protective device or cover and chair-connections ispreferably made of relatively light and flexible cotton fabric, forcomfort, washability and low cost;

though the invention is not confined or limited and the lower part, at6, may be considered the apron. Arm-holes I are provided between the bib5 and the two back-covering flaps 8 which are provided with tie-stringsor other simple and convenient fasteners 9 that are normally out ofreach of the small child seated on the chair-seat as indicated, bydotted lines, as being within the outer body garment whose ties 9 areknotted to secure the child's chest and shoulders in the said outer bodygarment.

The apron 6 is united with the bib 5 and with an apron-extension l0 thatforms a pocket whose inner or lower wall is shown at H, the normallyfront edge l2 and lateral edges I3 of the pocket being closed andpreferably hemmed or bound as indicated; but the normally rear edge I lbeing free to provide the pockets opening for receiving the table 2 intothe pocket |0--l I. It is seen that the table overhangs the childs legs,so that if any thing is dropped or spilled by the child, its legs wouldbe somewhat shielded by the table, but not entirely; for if the apron 6were absent or displaced, the dropped or spilled material could passdown at the rear edge of the table and onto the childs legs or lowergarment; but the presence of the apron 6 prevents such descent ofmaterial and effectively and fully shields the legs and lower garments.Moreover, even if the apron were provided with a pocket located to catchdescending materials at the rear end of the table only, it would notcatch material spilled at the front or'middle of the,

table, and if such material be liquid, it would be likely to seep orflow under such materialcatching pocket and onto the child. Therefore,to entirely prevent such descent from rear of the table, its top andfront edge and lateral edges are entirely covered by the apron, so, ifthe apron is impervious to the liquid the latter is checked thereby; or,if the apron and its extension it are absorbent they will hold theliquid substantially where spilled on the table, or at least retard theflow while a napkin or other absorber can be applied by the child'sattendant.

If the table-cover I! were not provided with the wall ii, it could beeasily displaced accidentally or by playful pranks of the child; but ifit is displaced, a part of the wall ii automatically substitutes thedisplaced part of cover I0, so the table must remain completely coveredwhile the body-garment is secured on the child. Moreover, the childcannot rise to its feet in an .erect position, because the strap 4prevents the table from being raised, and the wall H, or pocket Iii-llcooperates with the table 2 and apron 6 and body-garment for restrainingthe child from rising. However, if the restraining means i were absent,the child's effort to rise might cause it to fall forward on the table;so the restraining means or fasteners I! are of great importance, thoughexceedingly simple and convenient, and one important feature of therestraining means is that it is such as to allow or permit the childschest and shoulder portions to move freely toward and from the tablewithout discomfort. Such restraining means consists of two pairrofflexible and washable strips or tie-strings united with the body-garmentat points below the arm-holes l, as seen at i5b. One pair of thetie-strips is shown in Fig. 2 as having their lower ends tied togetherwhere they connect with one of the side rungs of the chair I. Because ofthese two pairs of restraining strips, one at each side of the bodygarment and chair, the child cannot lean far over to one side or theother, so it cannot reach the ties at I So. Therefore while the ties arequite simple per se, the

arrangement thereof in combination with the other elements is not onlyeffective and unfailing as a restraining means, but is also veryconvenient as a releasing means for manipulation by the child'sattendant; and the same is true of the securing means I; for when theties of the means 9 and ii are untied by simply pulling their free ends,the body garment can then be spread laterally for releasing the childsarms from the arm-holes I, whereeupon the child can arise or be raisedfrom the chair and from the elements combined therewith, and theprotect- .ing cover can then be removed from the chair and food-tablewhen desired for washing or for other purpose. However the child can beremoved from and replaced in the chair and protecting cover withoutuntying at Ma, only the ties at 9 being then open, so it is a very quickand easy matter to remove only the child while the protecting cover,when used at the child's home, need not be removed from its normalongagement with the chair and table except when it is desired towashvand replace it.

I have no intention to limit my patent protection to the precise detailsof construction, arrangement or materials mentioned in the foregoing andshown inthe drawings, for the invention is susceptible of numerouschanges within the scope of the inventive ideas as implied in theforegoing and claimed hereinafter.

I claim the following as my invention:

1. In a combined protecting and restraining device, for use on a personin a chair having a food-table supported and secured in position on afront part thereof, the combination of a bodygarment having arm-holesand including a bib and a table-cover and adapted to receive and coverthe chest and shoulders of said person when seated on the seat of saidchair and to cover said food-table, and means united with saidbody-garment at points below the level of said arm-holes and providedwith means for being secured to and disconnected from substantiallyopposite lower parts of said chair in a proper relation below said seatto restrain said person from rising and to permit said person's chestand shoulders to have free movement towards and from said food-table.

2. The combination defined by claim 1, and a combined apron andtable-receiving pocket that is united with said bib and is adapted toentirely cover the food-table's upper surface and front and lateraledges and to extend under the foodtable far enough to restrain theperson in the body-garment and chair from displacing said pocket fromthe food-table, said combined bodygarment and apron and table-receivingpocket constituting a means to restrain said person from rising to anupright position in the chair when in its normal position on the personand food-table.

3. The combination with a chair, a food-table supported on a frontportion of the chair, a pocket normally surrounding the greater portionof said food-table and entirely covering the top of the food-table, abody-garment united with said pocket and having arm-holes and ineludinga bib and being adapted to receive the GEORGE M. GARNER.

